Chapter 10: Poo-tee-weet?

          To begin, I realize that I have used the term theme numerous times in other posts, but I wanted to address the theme presented at the end of the novel. One of the biggest themes of the novel can be summarized in the last line of the novel, "One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, 'Poo-tee-weet?' (Vonnegut 215). At the beginning of the novel, Vonnegut addresses the point that nothing can be said about a massacre. In witnessing the Dresden bombings, Vonnegut knew just how destructive it was. By possessing this outlook, Vonnegut only has a bird chirping at the end of the novel to show the theme that nothing can describe the horror of large-scale death, destruction, etc. The birds chirping also shows that nothing intelligent can be said about war. After reading this novel, I have realized that this is a very understandable and truthful theme about life.

Chapter 10: Simile

             Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, there are countless numbers of similes and metaphors. One of the reoccurring similes that was used earlier by Vonnegut makes a reappearance at the end of the novel. The simile appears in the passage, "There were hundreds of corpse mines operating by and by. They didn't smell bad at first, were wax museums. But then the bodies rotten and liquefied, and the stink was like roses and mustard gas" (Vonnegut 214). Now, I am not exactly sure what roses and mustard gas smells like, but it must be awful since it is being compared to rotten flesh. This made me think of earlier in the novel, when Vonnegut compared his breath to roses and mustard gas. I personally find it odd how his breath and rotting corpses can be compared to the same thing. Anyways, Slaughterhouse-Five was a very confusing novel to begin with, but by the end, I found it to be very enjoyable with great themes. This was probably one of the better novels that I had to read.

Chapter 9: the Serenity Prayer

             The Serenity Prayer makes a reappearance at the end of chapter nine, which I find very interesting. This prayer appears on a necklace around Montana Wildhack's neck, and also earlier in Billy's work office on a plaque. The prayer goes like this:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

            When I first read this prayer, the thoughts or ideas in the prayer seems to almost be clustered. I had to break it down to truly understand its meaning. First, we are asking for comfort to accept things that cannot be changed, which is pretty straight forward. This is very comparable to the "bugs in amber" symbolism that we are stuck in the moment and cannot change it. The next line asks for the courage to change things that I can. People go through the problem of being scared to make changes in their life that can better them as a person. The last line is confusing in asking for the wisdom to know the difference between the two. After reading the line again, it is important to know the difference so people do not waste time on unchangeable problems, etc. It is kind evident that Kurt Vonnegut believes in the meaning of the prayer, and it is shown throughout the novel.  

Chapter 9: Symbol

          The symbol that is my topic of discussion is something that I first read over without giving much thought to it. This symbol is the green coffin-shaped wagon that Billy and other soldiers are riding in, after the war. It appears in the passage, "... Billy closed his eyes, traveled in time to a May afternoon, two days after the end of the Second World War in Europe. Billy and five other Americans prisoners were riding in a coffin-shaped green wagon, which they found abandoned, complete with two horses, in a suburb of Dresden" (Vonnegut 194). When I first read this passage, I did find it very strange that Vonnegut would describe the wagon as being coffin-shaped, but that all I though of it.

           While reading further in the chapter, I started to think of the odd wagon and what was its purpose. Then I realized its meaning. I believe the wagon symbolizes that even though it may seem like a time of happiness, being the victor of war, the survivors of the war still suffered symbolic death. The death of their feeling of living a meaningful life. The death of the innocence of the "babies" that had fought in the war. Billy did not grasp the emptiness of victory in war until he sees the condition of the horses, which are pitiful.

            In conclusion, the green coffin-shaped wagon had a deeper purpose in symbolizing death of the survivors in several ways. Vonnegut, throughout the novel, has been trying to show that war is pointless, and death will be suffered even by the winning side. This green wagon is Vonnegut's way of demonstrating this theme.

Chapter 8: Time Travel

          When first reading chapter two, the reader was introduced to the main character, Billy, who could time travel. Billy's time traveling is what all Tralfamadorians, an alien race, experience. The Tralfamadorians experience all of existence at any given time, thus they see their existence as a whole. Because of this ability, they see consequences of their actions at the time they act.

          Billy's ability to see consequences is the important part of his time travel. Humanity doesn't see the "whole picture". Humanity doesn't understand the consequences of their actions. Vonnegut's thought is that, if humans could see, or would think about the "whole picture", they wouldn't do things like bomb the city of Dresden, treat each other cruelly, etc. Vonnegut uses the Tralfamadorian view of their lives, and Billy's time travelling, to demonstrate this point.  He criticizes humans with the hope that we will learn to behave better.

        This was a topic that I had difficulties understanding and had to research. After reading on this topic, it actually makes a lot sense and is a great theme for the novel.

Chapter 8: Extended Metaphor

         In chapter eight, there were numerous metaphors, but there was one extended metaphor that caught my attention. This metaphor is found in the passages, "The curves were smooth only when seen from a distance. The people climbing them learned that they were treacherous, jagged things--hot to the touch, often unstable--eager, should certain important rocks be disturbed, to tumble some more, to form lower, more solid curves. Nobody talked much as the expedition crossed the moon. There was nothing appropriate to say. One thing was clear: Absolutely everybody in the city was supposed to be dead, regardless of what they were, and that anybody that moved in it represented a flaw in the design. There were to be no moon men at all" (Vonnegut 180). I find it interesting that Vonnegut uses a metaphor to describe the aftermath of the Dresden bombing. In comparing the survivors to an expedition crossing the moon, Vonnegut gives the audience a feel that the survivors are on a mission, which is also an interesting comparison.

        All in all, chapter eight was interesting in how Vonnegut tells the reader about the Dresden bombings.

Chapter 7: So It Goes

        "So it goes" is a phrase that Vonnegut uses regularly throughout the novel. When I hear this phrase alone, it sounds very depressing. Vonnegut uses this phrase whenever there is a mentioning of death, or cease of existence, for both inanimate objects and for humans. Vonnegut also seems to use this phrase whenever he does not want to go into details of a certain event, almost like a way out of finishing the story without actually concluding it. With this in mind, "so it goes" almost seems symbolic to death, destruction, suffering, sadness, etc. This is where the phrase "so it goes" adds on to the theme of the book: death is nothing to fear; it simply happens, but is never permanent. When first reading this, it does sound very depressing and harsh, but it instead highlights Vonnegut's beliefs of death and its infinite nature.

         I hope the quality of the post will overshadow the quantity. Anyways, on to chapter eight!

Chapter 7: Flashback

           An example of a flashback can be found quite early in chapter seven. This example is found in the passage, "Speaking of people from Poland: Billy Pilgrim accidentally saw a Pole hanged in public, about three days after Billy got to Dresden. Billy just happened to be walking to work with some others shortly after sunrise, and they came to a gallows and a small crowd in front of a soccer stadium. The Pole was a farm laborer who was being hanged for having had sexual intercourse with a German woman. So it goes" (Vonnegut 155-156). I find it interesting how Vonnegut informs the reader of this event in a flashback, instead of Billy time traveling. Vonnegut could have gone greater into details of the story by having Billy time travel, but rather there is just a flashback. With this flashback, I am starting to appreciate more the style of writing Vonnegut possess. His writing style is much more interesting then having numerous flashbacks because of the constant time travel.

          Since I was lazy the past few days, I procrastinated in finishing my posts. I am wishing the quality of the post stay the same even with the shortened time period. Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer! 

Chapter 6: Blue and Ivory

       The representation of the colors of blue and ivory are used by Vonnegut in communicating a theme to the reader. The first incident in which these colors appear is when Billy is about to be abducted by the saucer. Vonnegut goes on to describe Billy's feet as blue and ivory. Vonnegut uses blue and ivory again in the passage, "Someone had taken his [Hobo's] boots. His bare feet were blue and ivory. It was all right, somehow, his being dead. So it goes" (Vonnegut 148). When I first read this passage, it puzzled me. As I stated, it was used to describe Billy's feet with the saucer, and also while in war. At first, I could not find a connection between this motif and the rest of the novel, but then came SparkNotes.

        According to SparkNotes, the phrase "blue and ivory" is used to represent the thin membrane between life and death. This is when it made sense to me. These blue and ivory feet appeared on both Billy and the corpse of the hobo, allowing the reader to make the connection: the corpse is dead and Billy is alive; yet, they share the same physical feature, making them closer in bodily state than what is thought. Vonnegut is trying to show the reader that life and death are not as separated as people may think.

        I believe that this is one of the major themes of Slaughterhouse-Five, being an anti-war novel and all. This is a theme, when thought about deeply, makes sense since life is extremely precious and can be taken away at any moment. In the mindset of Vonnegut, life and death are not as far apart as it may appear.

Chapter 6: Dramatic Irony

        In chapter six, there is a perfect example of dramatic irony, a type of irony in which the reader knows something that a character does not. This type of irony is shown in the passage, "'You needn't worry about bombs, by the way. Dresden is an open city. It is undefended, and contains no war industries or troop concentrations of any importance"' (Vonnegut 146). This passage was spoken by an Englishman, when describing where the American prisoners will be moving to. It was stated earlier in the novel that Dresden would be bombed, and Billy has made multiple references to the Dresden bombing. In recalling this, the reader can understand right away that the passage above is dramatic irony, seeing how the Englishman has no clue that Dresden will be bombed later in the novel, and the reader does know.

        Sorry this post is shorter then my other ones. I feel like this literary term is almost self explanatory. Anyways, I am starting to really get into Slaughterhouse-Five and some of its themes. This novel has been great so far!

Chapter 5: Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here

      In this post, I wanted to talk about a topic that I was more curious about rather then it being important to the novel. When I was reading chapter five, I came across the passage, "The door was flung open from inside. Light leaped out through the door, escaped from prison at 186,000 miles per second. Out marched fifty middle-aged Englishmen. They were singing 'Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here' from the Pirates of Penzance" (Vonnegut 93). After coming across this passage, I was instantly curious on what this song even was, so I decided to do some more research on the song. The lyrics go something like this:

Hail, hail, the gang's all here

What the heck do we care

What the heck do we care

Hail, hail, the gang's all here

What the heck do we care now

      According to the Wikipedia article that I read, this song was popular in the United States, being written in 1917. When I read this, I found it quite odd. Why would Englishmen be singing a song that was popular in America? Could it be because they are trying to make the American prisoners of war feel comfortable and welcomed? Honestly, I believe that is what they are doing. Anyways, I will place a link of the Wikipedia article below just in case anyone wants to read it.

                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail,_Hail,_the_Gang's_All_Here

          

Chapter 5: Internal Conflict

      

       Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy struggles with the internal conflict of if he considers himself insane or not. This conflict is shown in the passage, "He [Billy] knew he was going crazy when he heard himself proposing marriage to her [Valencia], when he begged her to take the diamond ring and be his companion for life" (Vonnegut 107). Billy, much to his disappointment, is starting to believe that he is going insane because of the types of actions and thoughts he has become accustomed to.

       I, for reasonable examples, have reason to believe Billy is not completely insane. Billy graduated from Optometry school as the third best in his class of forty-seven, which shows that he is a sophisticated man. Optometry is a practice that an everyday Joe cannot be an expert in. This being the case, Billy has become wealthy by the means of his high-class Optometry office. This has to show that Billy has not completely lost his mind, yet.

       Even though there are some reasons to believe Billy is not insane, there are numerous reasons to believe that he is. First of all, he is continuously time traveling through events in his life, which sounds extremely insane. Second, many soldiers came back showing signs of being insane after events they experienced in World War Two. Billy could be a prime example of this by witnessing and surviving the bombing of Dresden. Lastly, Billy does not even realize that the room is cold, even when the furnace has gone out.

       So the question is, has Billy become insane? At the beginning of the novel, there was not much reason to believe that Billy is insane, but by reading further, I am starting to believe that he is. By the actions and the characteristics that he demonstrates, Billy is starting to make me a believer in him being insane. Well, I guess I will have to continue reading and find out.  

           

Chapter 4: Free Will

       Billy's thought of "free will" seems to be challenged by the Tralfamadorians, when the topic of "bugs in amber" is the center of discussion. The "bugs in amber" logic is we are trapped in the current moment, and there is nothing we can do about it. The Tralfamadorians have the belief that all moments have already happened, so they just accept their fate because they feel powerless in changing them. The Tralfamadorians state that they have only heard of "free will" on Earth even after visiting 31 other planets.

        Free will, a topic I have never put much thought into, is a controversial topic. My own personal definition of free will is the ability to make decisions by yourself and not being forced to do them. They are many different tasks, activities, and jobs that take this ability away. It may sound silly, but even little tasks like being forced to do the dishes takes away our free will.

        Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy loses his ability of free will. When Billy was younger, his father threw him in a pool trying to teach Billy how to swim. To his father's dismay, Billy enjoys the bottom of the pool more, but against Billy's free will, his father takes him out of the pool. Another example of Billy losing his ability of free will is being drafted and forced to fight in World War Two.

         Overall, I believe free will is something that does exist throughout life. Although it may seem nonexistence, free will is always there, but can be taken away for a given period of time.    

Chapter 4: Foreshadowing

         Foreshadowing is a term that can be difficult to find in Slaughterhouse-Five, but I believe that I have found an example of it. During chapter 4, conditions for the American prisoners started to become worse with each passing day. Sadly, on the ninth day of imprisonment, Roland Weary passes away from gangrene that started in his foot. With his last moments, he asked to be avenged for his death, caused by Billy.

          Shortly after this, Vonnegut "randomly" describes a car thief from Cicero, Illinois, named Paul Lazzaro. The passage, "Lazzaro, too, had been on Roland Weary's boxcar, and had given his word of honor to Weary that he would find some way to make Billy Pilgrim pay for Weary's death. He was looking around now, wondering which naked human being was Billy" shows that Paul Lazzaro is truly devoted to avenging Weary.

          This passage made me believe that Vonnegut was trying to foreshadow the reader something. The audience already knows that Billy lives to be a middle-aged man, which means he survived the war. But Vonnegut never describes how Billy dies... Could it be that Lazzaro sticks to his promise to Weary and attempts to avenge him by killing Billy even after all this time? I believe that this could be a possibility, but I'm not entirely sure.

          All in all, when I read this passage, it made me believe that it was an example of foreshadowing. I'm honestly not sure if this is an example of foreshadowing, but I think it could possibly be one. Well, I guess I'll have to wait and find out.

Chapter 3: Croesus

       
        While reading, I came across the quote, "He [Billy] was rich as Croesus, something he had never expected to be, not in a million years" (Vonnegut 61). Vonnegut then goes on to describe his wealth by the number of doctors that work for him, and other investments he has made. When I first read this quote, I was stuck on the question, "Who is this Croesus guy?" So in this post, I decided I would do some research and talk about him.

        Croesus, the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians, is most associated with his wealth. Being the king of Lydia came with its benefits. Croesus would live a life of luxury, something that comes with being a powerful king. He is credited with being the first foreigner to come in contact with Greece, and he even formed an alliance with Sparta. One of his biggest accomplishments is issuing the first true gold coins with a set value for general circulation. Later, Croesus is also credited with issuing silver coins in general circulation. Both ideas would become revolutionary in his time.

       According to Wikipedia, "...expressions such as 'rich as Croesus' or 'richer than Croesus' are used to indicate great wealth to this day." Which, yes, these expressions might be used today, but honestly this is the first time I have heard these expressions or at least recognized them. I do have to give Vonnegut credit in using a very unique expression that I had to research to fully understand. This makes me realize just how clever Kurt Vonnegut really is.  

          

Chapter 3: Antihero

       Billy Pilgrim, although the central character in Slaughterhouse-Five, is not portrayed as a hero like most main characters in novels. Billy is portrayed more as someone who is weaker then other characters and can be bullied easily, thus an antihero. For instances, the passage, "They [German soldiers] threw Billy into shrubbery. When Billy came out of the shrubbery, his face wreathed in goofy good will, they menaced him with their machine pistols, as though they were capturing him then" (Vonnegut 58) shows his inability to resist the soldiers. When reading this passage, the first idea that came to mind is Billy is just letting the German soldiers push him around. Yes, I know, they do have firearms, but it seems like Billy did not even try to resist like most stereotypical heroes would.
   
       Another quality that makes me believe that Billy is an antihero is his random outbursts of sobbing. This quality is shown in the passage, "But sleep would not come. Tears came instead. They seeped. Billy turned on the Magic Mike Fingers, and he was jiggled as he wept" (Vonnegut 62). Most heroes do not show signs of weaknesses, flaws, or even normal human qualities and emotions. This does not refer to only "superheros", but heroes in novels.

       In conclusion, these two passages show that Billy lacks in the qualities of courage and grace. As of now, I characterize Billy as an antihero, but I could be proven wrong with "future" actions. It's kind of difficult to use "future" lightly in this novel. Anyways, chapter three was very enjoyable, and I look forward to reading about Billy's alien abduction.

Chapter 2: The Fourth Kind

        Chapter Two in Slaughterhouse-Five reminds me of a movie I recently watched at my friend's birthday party. The movie, titled The Fourth Kind, is a movie about horrific types of incidents in a small town in Alaska. Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist, is repeatedly seeing patients that report seeing a white owl and suddenly are filled with fear. The fear they are experiencing is the result of aliens interacting with them, which is unknown to most patients. Dr. Abigail Tyler begins to experiencing the same interactions as her patients, and her daughter is abducted by aliens shortly after. Trying to convince a police officer of this abduction, the officer believes that Dr. Abigail is insane and accuses her of her own daughter's disappearance.

        The situation in The Fourth Kind is comparable to Billy's dilemma. Billy is seen as insane by his daughter, Barbara, when he reports to a radio station in New York that he had been abducted by aliens from the planet of Tralfamadore. This abduction lasted merely a few Earth seconds, but was actually a few years on Tralfamadore. Barbara cannot believe Billy, and honestly it would be hard to.

        In my opinion, these two situations are very much comparable. Honestly, it would be hard to believe anyone, even our closest family members, if they reported they were abducted by aliens. I know many people would share my opinion on this topic. Even in today's society, a person saying they were abducted by aliens would seem insane.

        All in all, Billy saying he was abducted by aliens seems sketchy. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if he is actually telling the truth...       

Chapter 2: Indirect Characterization

     While reading the second chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five, I notice many prime examples of Indirect Characterization. The first example comes in the narrator's description of Billy, "He was a funny-looking child who became a funny-looking youth--tall and weak, and shaped like a bottle of Coca-Cola" (Vonnegut 23). When I first read this description, I did not take much notice and thought it was just giving the audience a basic description of Billy. I shortly realized that it was telling the reader that Billy is someone who is not gifted physically, thus not ready or capable of fighting in a war.

      Another prime example of Indirect Characterization in Slaughterhouse-Five is Billy's experience after his involvement in an airplane crash. Vonnegut describes Billy, after the crash, by saying, "When Billy finally got home to Illium after the airplane crash, he was quiet for a while. . . He didn't resume practice" (Vonnegut 25). This description of Billy's situation shows the crash deeply effected his mind and even scared him. Because of this crash, Billy will not be the same mentally or emotionally.

      Chapter Two was confusing, but by the end of the chapter, it made sense. It was very interesting in its structure, and the events that took place throughout the chapter.     

 

Chapter 1: Baby Soldiers

        

          While reading the first chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five, Mary O'Hare presents the reader with her very strong opinion on war in general. Mary states, "'You were just babies in the war-like the ones upstairs!"' (Vonnegut 14). She then goes on to state that they will pretend that they were men in the war and not babies. These are, in my opinion, both valid points. Many of the soldiers in World War Two were young men right at the end of their childhood, not knowing what they were really in for.

          Mary O'Hare's opinion reminds me of the YouTube epidemic, KONY 2012. This is a "movement" that wants Joseph Kony thrown in jail for making children fight in war. Joseph Kony is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan guerrilla group. This group has forced children to partake in war.  With the knowledge I possess on this topic, it seems that Mary's opinion and KONY 2012 are somewhat similar. I know that KONY 2012 is a much more serious situation compared to Mary's opinion, but they are both similar in wanting "babies" not fighting in war, which should be fought by men.

         After taking a hiatus from blogging, I plan on reading the rest of Slaughterhouse-Five shortly and finish blogging. I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer so far!

        

Chapter 1: Point of View

        When first reading Slaughterhouse-Five, it's quite simple to pick up the point of view for the first chapter. The quote, "One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn't his" (Vonnegut 1) shows that the point of view for the first chapter is a first person point of view. Personally, I enjoy reading novels that are first person. I find first person novels interesting because it seems more personal from the main character's point of view then having an author tell about the character's actions and explaining the character's personal feelings. For example, when Kurt Vonnegut speaks of himself as an "old fart", I find it easier to understand his feelings about himself, and it is more humorous being from a first person perspective. I know that some readers do not share my opinion on a first person point of view, but I do find it more enjoyable then third person.

       After reading the first chapter, I find Slaughterhouse-Five very enjoyable. I believe that this will be a well-rounded novel that is entertaining to read. I can not wait to read the rest!

Edit: I can easily tell, by starting chapter two, that the point of view for Slaughterhouse-Five will be in a third person point of view. At least I had the point of view for chapter one correct! 

Live

This is my first post for Slaughterhouse Five.